Dream Machine
by Tuxedo Mark
Summary: When Shockwave vaporizes her car, Carly decides to build a new car of her own.


**THE TRANSFORMERS**

**DREAM MACHINE**

**Written By:  
MARK MOORE**

* * *

Author's note: I was introduced to TF by a friend in college. My first exposure was the Movie and BW. Later, I started watching G1, BM, and RID - plus occasional episodes of later series (I don't have cable). I'm particularly attracted to the (few) female characters. This story focuses on two of them.

Now for some universe/time placement. This story is set in 100 pure, no additives, G1 cartoon continuity. There's no talk of sparks or Primus. The robots don't have teeth. It occurs over the course of Season 2. Here's a little timeline to serve as a guide. For maximum effect, if you have the time, watch the episodes and read the scenes in chronological order (the opening narration is not counted as a scene, and "B.O.T." is listed only as a time placement). Episodes in bold indicate appearances of Carly:

**THE IMMOBILIZER**

**DESERTION OF THE DINOBOTS, PART 1**

**DESERTION OF THE DINOBOTS, PART 2**

Scenes 01-04

**BLASTER BLUES**

Scene 05

THE GIRL WHO LOVED POWERGLIDE

Scenes 06-07

**HOIST GOES HOLLYWOOD**

Scene 08

THE KEY TO VECTOR SIGMA, PART 1

THE KEY TO VECTOR SIGMA, PART 2

Scenes 09-17

**COSMIC RUST**

Scene 18

B.O.T.

Scenes 19-20

I started writing the first draft of this story from Sunday, March 23, 2003, 11:00 AM to Tuesday, March 25, 2003, 12:07 AM. I then took a little break. I continued writing the first draft from Sunday, August 20, 2006, 10:30 AM to Sunday, September 24, 2006, 12:06 AM.

My thanks go to Earl Kress, Donald F. Glut, Larry Strauss, David Wise, and Paul Davids for writing the episodes that I drew upon in writing this story.

My thanks also go to Laurie Kelley and Derek 'Inessi' Smith, Onslaught, and Velvet Glove on alt.toys.transformers for their comments and suggestions. While I didn't follow through on every suggestion, they've been a big help. Thank you!

I wrote the final draft from Monday, November 6, 2006, 2:00 PM to Saturday, April 21, 2007, 11:01 AM. Reviews of all kinds are welcome. Enjoy the story!

* * *

_"Vision fills her heart and gives her strength that's pure and true, and, when it seems that all is lost, she knows what she must do. She's got the power." _

_- Stan Bush_

* * *

Many millions of years ago, on the planet Cybertron, life existed, but not life as we know it today - intelligent robots that could think and feel inhabited the cities. They were called Autobots and Decepticons, but the brutal Decepticons were driven by a single goal: total domination. They set out to destroy the peace-loving Autobots, and a war between the forces of good and evil raged across Cybertron, devastating all in its path, draining the planet's once-rich sources of energy. The Autobots, on the verge of extinction, battled valiantly to survive.

In search of precious energy, the Autobots venture forth into outer space, but the evil Decepticons attack them. Four million years later, in the year 1984, the Autobots and Decepticons are reactivated. The Decepticons convert oil into energon cubes and leave workers and their Autobot rescuers trapped. The Autobots rescue and befriend a father and son, Sparkplug and Spike Witwicky.

Now, in the year 1985, the Autobots and their human friends befriend a girl named Carly that is fascinated with the Autobots. In search of the cybertonium needed to revive the energy-depleted Autobots, Spike and Carly follow the runaway Dinobots to Cybertron. There, they encounter their deadly foe, Shockwave. Carly and Spike succeed in getting cybertonium to the Autobots and are made honorary Autobots.

* * *

Carly Banas was angry.

She and Spike had just returned from Cybertron with the cybertonium that the Autobots needed to survive. Things had turned out okay.

Except that Shockwave had vaporized her car.

Carly loved her convertible. She had gotten it as a present from her parents on her birthday. Now, it was gone.

_Damn Shockwave,_ Carly thought as she sat in the passenger's seat of Sparkplug's truck, staring out the window. _Someone needs to destroy him._

The truck pulled into Carly's driveway.

Carly looked at Sparkplug. "Thank you for driving me home, Mr. Witwicky."

"No problem, Carly."

Carly opened the door, hopped out of the truck, and closed the door. She waved to Sparkplug as he backed out of the driveway, then she turned and walked up to the front door of her house.

She opened the door and walked into the living room, closing the door behind her.

Her mother walked into the living room. "Hi, honey."

"Hi, mom." Carly said.

"What have you got there?" her mother asked.

"Huh?" Carly was confused for a moment, then she remembered her medallion hanging from her neck. "Oh! Spike and I were made honorary Autobots today!"

"That's nice. Dinner will be ready soon. You should invite Spike over sometime. Your father and I would love to meet him."

"Yeah, okay." Carly turned and walked up the staircase.

Carly entered her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

It was not a typical teenaged girl's bedroom. There was a bed, a dresser, a bookshelf with science books and computer manuals, and a desk with a lamp. There was a closet with clothing that was semi-formal. There was a Jem and the Holograms poster on the wall behind the bed and matching albums on the bookshelf. There was a "Star Wars" movie poster on the wall in front of the desk.

Carly took off her clothes and put on some casual home clothes.

She opened the door, went downstairs, and walked into the kitchen.

Her dinner was on the kitchen table, and her parents were seated.

"Hi, Carly." her father greeted. "How was your day?"

Carly sat in her chair, opened the bottle of barbecue sauce, and poured it over her pork. "My car was destroyed."

"What?!" her parents exclaimed.

"Spike and I went to Cybertron to get cybertonium for the Autobots." Carly explained. "We used the Decepticon space bridge. When we arrived, Shockwave vaporized my car."

"Damn." her father said. "Well, I guess we'll go looking for a new car for you tomorrow."

Carly stuck a piece of pork into her mouth and chewed. "Thanks."

* * *

Carly and her parents spent the next morning at various car dealerships.

"How about _this_ one?" her father asked, pointing at a red convertible.

Carly sighed. "It's just not the same. My old car felt personal. I was close to her. I knew how to handle her."

"Well, I don't know what you want." her father told her.

"The only thing that could duplicate the personal connection that I had with my old car is a car that I'd build myself." Carly said. "Hey,...that's it! I'll build a car myself!"

"What?" her mother asked. "Carly, are you sure about that? It's gonna be expensive."

"I know," Carly said, "but it'll be worth it. I won't be building just _any_ car. I'll be building my dream machine."

* * *

They stopped off at a bookstore, where Carly bought some car books. Then they went home.

Carly went up to her bedroom with her books, closed the door behind her, put the books on her bed, took off her clothes, and put on some casual home clothes.

Carly then sat down at her desk and started reading the books. When she had a good grasp on the parts of cars, she got out a pencil and notebook and started designing her car.

* * *

Later that day, Carly invited Spike over to her house but didn't tell him why.

When the doorbell rang, Carly walked downstairs and unlocked and opened the front door.

Spike was standing outside. "Hey, Carly."

"Hi, Spike." Carly stood aside. "Come on in."

"Thanks." Spike walked into the living room.

Carly closed the door and locked it.

"So what's this about?" Spike asked her. "Why the big secret?"

"You'll see." Carly told him. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Do you have any cola?" Spike asked.

"Sure. Hang on." Carly said.

Carly walked into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and got out two bottles of Royal Crown Cola. She closed the refrigerator. She walked back into the living room.

"Here ya go." Carly offered one of the bottles to Spike.

Spike took the bottle. "Thanks."

"Have a seat." Carly offered.

Spike sat on the couch, and Carly sat to his right.

Carly opened her bottle and took a swig of the cola.

Spike opened his bottle. "So what's this about?"

Carly picked up her notebook off of the coffee table and offered it to Spike. "I can't find a new car to my liking, so I designed one."

Spike took the notebook and opened it. "You wanna build your own car?" He took a swig of the cola.

"Uh-huh." Carly replied. "Not just _any_ car, though. An Autobot."

Spike spit out the cola in shock. "An Autobot?!"

"Well, it started out as a normal car then kinda got outta hand,...sorta." Carly explained.

Spike continued looking at Carly's sketches.

"What do you think?" Carly asked.

"Well, it looks like a neat idea." Spike said. "Are you capable of doing this, though?"

"Mostly." Carly replied.

"Well, I'm sure the other Autobots would feel honored to help." Spike said.

"No, Spike." Carly told him. "I'd like this to be a completely human project."

"Well, dad built Autobot X." Spike said. "We can use what we learned from that and improve on it."

Carly smiled. "Thanks, Spike."

"Do you have a name for him yet?" Spike asked.

"It's a her," Carly corrected, "and no. I'm having trouble coming up with a name."

"Why don't you name her after yourself?" Spike suggested.

"That'd get confusing." Carly looked at her bottle. "Wait a minute." She took the notebook from Spike and wrote her name under her last sketch.

CARLY

"If I take most of the letters and rearrange them, I get this." Carly wrote underneath her name and then showed the notebook to Spike.

ARCY

"Arky?" Spike asked.

"No, silly! Arcee!" Carly corrected. She wrote the name in her notebook.

ARCEE

"Ah. I like it. Good thing you got the right cola from the fridge." Spike said.

"Thank my mom. She bought it." Carly said. "So...when can we get started?"

"Well, if you're not in any hurry, I've got tickets to a rock concert." Spike said.

"Awesome!" Carly exclaimed. "I'd love to go!"

* * *

Carly and Spike were in Carly's garage.

They were welding together the body frame.

Sparkplug's truck pulled into Carly's driveway.

Carly turned off her welding torch, took off her welding helmet, stood up, and walked over to the truck.

She immediately walked to the back of the truck to see what was there.

After Sparkplug got out of the truck, he joined her.

"Everything's here, Carly." Sparkplug told her. "I got the engine, the pedals, the steering wheel, the ignition system, the wheels, the hubcaps, the tires, the radio, - "

"Did you get the paint?" Carly asked.

"Pink and white, just like you said." Sparkplug replied. "That seems like a strange mix, though."

"I like it." Carly said. "Hey, there are no seats."

Sparkplug opened the back of the truck. "There wasn't enough room. I'll get them later."

Carly and Sparkplug unloaded the truck.

* * *

"Thanks for helping us, Chip." Carly said.

"I'm honored to help, Carly." Chip Chase said. "I've never built an Autobot before."

"But wouldn't it be easier to build just the robot mode and let Teletraan I create the vehicle mode?" Spike suggested.

"No." Carly replied. "I don't want the Autobots' help."

Carly, Spike, and Chip were in Carly's garage. Carly and Spike had already built the metal exterior of the car and gotten most of the internal components. At Spike's suggestion and Carly's approval, Spike had brought Chip Chase in to help with the computer system and other electronic components.

"Well, Carly, I can help you with the electronics end of it." Chip told her. "The question is: Can you afford it?"

"Um, well, not yet." Carly replied.

"Hey." Spike snapped his fingers. "I know just the person that can help us."

* * *

"I can't thank you enough." Carly said.

"Yeah. Thanks, Astoria." Spike said.

Astoria smiled. "Any friends of Powerglide are friends of mine."

"I'm gonna go to the bank right now and deposit this check." Carly said. "Then we'll order the parts."

Carly started to walk out of the garage.

"How will you get there?" Spike asked.

Carly stopped as the remembrance of her lack of transportation hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Oh, damn it." Carly said. "Let's get this done as fast as possible. The less time that I have to rely on public transportation, the better."

* * *

Carly, Spike, and Chip finished installing the computer circuitry in the car.

"Now, we need a voice sample." Chip said.

"Hmm, I'd do it, but it'd sound weird to hear my own voice coming out of an Autobot." Carly said.

"I can do a girl's voice." Spike said in a squeaky, high-pitched voice.

Carly stared at him in stunned silence for a moment, then she frowned. "Don't be so thick! I want a _real_ female voice."

* * *

Carly was walking home from the video arcade.

She refused to use the bus, if she could help it.

As she was making her way along a sidewalk, she heard music.

Carly turned a corner and saw a concert set up on a stage in the park across the street.

She carefully crossed the street and stood at a distance, watching the girls perform.

Carly singled out the backing vocals of one of the singers and grinned. She found it lovely - caring but with a bit of an edge to it. This was the voice that she wanted for Arcee.

When the concert was over, Carly approached the band member.

"Excuse me." Carly said.

"Yeah?" the woman, whose hair was dyed a dark blue, asked.

"I really like your voice." Carly said.

"Thanks." the woman said.

"I'm building an Autobot, and I need a voice sample for it." Carly told her. "Are you interested?"

"Whoa, whoa, back up." the woman said. "You're building an Autobot?"

"Yeah." Carly offered her right hand to the woman. "I'm Carly Banas. Nice to meet you."

The woman shook her hand. "I'm Mary Phillips. Nice to meet you, too."

Carly smiled. "So?"

Mary smiled. "I'd be honored! Lead the way!"

"Stormer!" a green-haired woman yelled angrily.

"I'll meet you at the hotel, Pizzazz!" Mary yelled back. "I'm going to voice an Autobot!"

* * *

"Okay, speak." Carly told Mary.

"'Hi, my name is Arcee.'" Mary read from a note. "'I am an Autobot. My creator is Carly Banas. My enemies are the Decepticons. I especially hate the Decepticon known as Shockwave. He must die a brutally violent death.' Carly, why - "

"No reason." Carly replied. "That's good. Thanks."

"Call me when she's activated." Mary said.

"I will." Carly said.

Mary turned and walked out of Carly's garage.

"There's one thing left to do." Carly said. "Arcee must be taken to Vector Sigma to be given life."

"Vector Sigma?" Chip asked.

"It's the megacomputer deep in the core of Cybertron. It gives all Transformers life." Carly explained. "I read about it in the Autobots' computer files a while back."

"Carly, I hate to say this, but we're gonna have to break your rule." Spike said. "We need the Autobots' help for this."

"I wouldn't say that." Carly walked over to Arcee. "I think it's time to take Arcee for a test drive."

* * *

"Carly, this is crazy!" Spike yelled.

Carly was currently driving at 120 miles per hour towards the Decepticon space bridge. A worried Spike was sitting in the passenger's seat.

Suddenly, laser fire came at them from both sides.

"We've been spotted!" Spike yelled.

Carly smirked. "Heh."

"Turn around!" Spike begged her. "We can always take Omega Supreme!"

Instead, Carly sped up and swerved from side to side, dodging the fire.

"You're insane!" Spike yelled.

The space bridge opened.

Carly drove straight into it.

* * *

They came out in a room on Cybertron.

Carly knew this room well.

She also knew the Decepticon that was standing in that room.

"Intruders!" Shockwave started firing at them.

"Not this time!" Carly declared.

Carly swerved left and right to dodge Shockwave's attacks and then drove out of the room.

"Which way?" Carly asked Spike.

* * *

Carly and Spike got out of Arcee.

"Well, this is it." Carly said. "Vector Sigma!"

"I am Vector Sigma. Before Cybertron was, _I_ was. Who seeks me?"

"Carly Banas."

"Why are you here?"

"I'd like you to give a personality to an Autobot that I created. Make her female."

"Present her to me."

Carly stepped aside.

Vector Sigma zapped Arcee for a while.

"Personality programming completed."

Arcee transformed into robot mode.

Other than some unpainted grey around her waist and ankles and the redness of her lips and control panel, which was on her waist, Arcee was pink and white. Her eyes glowed bright blue.

"She's incredible." Spike said in awe.

"Yes, she is." Carly agreed.

"Hi, my name is Arcee." Arcee said.

Carly smiled. "Hi, Arcee. I'm - "

"Carly Banas, my creator." Arcee finished. "It's very nice to meet you."

"It's very nice to meet you, too." Carly told her. "This is Spike Witwicky. He helped to build you."

"Hi, Spike." Arcee said.

Spike bowed. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

"I'm on Cybertron." Arcee said.

"Yep." Carly said. "It's not exactly safe here right now, though, so we're going back to Earth."

"Okay." Arcee said.

Arcee transformed into vehicle mode, opened her doors, and started her engine.

Carly got in the driver's seat, and Spike got in the passenger's seat.

Arcee drove off.

* * *

"The intruders have returned!" Shockwave yelled.

"Shockwave!" Arcee exclaimed. "I must _destroy_ Shockwave!"

"No, Arcee!" Carly yelled. "Not now! Not with us here!"

Arcee drove into the space bridge.

* * *

Arcee drove out of the space bridge and dodged laser fire from both directions.

"I can't believe we made it!" Spike exclaimed.

"I never had any doubt." Carly said. "C'mon, Arcee! Let's go to Autobot headquarters! I wanna show you off!"

* * *

Arcee drove into Autobot headquarters.

Optimus Prime walked over to them. "Carly, Spike, what's this?"

"Hi, Optimus Prime." Carly got out of Arcee. "This is a little project that we've been working on."

Spike got out of Arcee. "To say the least."

"Go ahead." Carly told Arcee.

Arcee transformed into robot mode. "Hello, Optimus Prime. My name is Arcee. I pledge my loyalty to the Autobot cause."

"You...built an Autobot?" Optimus Prime asked Carly and Spike.

"Yeah, well, I needed a new car." Carly explained.

Optimus Prime got an Autobot emblem and placed it on Arcee's chest.

Arcee looked at it and smiled.

Optimus Prime offered his right hand to Arcee. "Welcome to the Autobots, Arcee."

Arcee shook his hand. "Thank you, Optimus Prime."

"Would you like a tour of Autobot headquarters?" Optimus Prime offered.

"No; thanks." Arcee replied. "Carly thought ahead and programmed the schematics into my memory."

"Oh." Optimus Prime said.

"Y'know, this ship is rather small by Autobot standards." Arcee said. "It's not very effective as a headquarters. Have you ever considered building something bigger?"

* * *

"I'm glad that you three could come." Carly said.

Carly was standing in front of her closed garage door. Spike was standing to her left. Before them were Chip, Astoria, and Mary.

"You finished it?" Chip asked.

"Yep." Carly said.

"Ooh, let us see!" Astoria begged.

Carly and Spike lifted open the garage door.

"I present Arcee!" Carly exclaimed.

Arcee was sitting in Carly's garage. She was currently in vehicle mode.

"Arcee, transform and say hi." Carly told her.

Arcee drove out of the garage and transformed into robot mode. "Hi, everyone. My name is Arcee."

"Awesome." Mary said in awe. "She sounds like me. She's pretty, too."

"She's a marvelous scientific achievement." Chip said.

"Money well spent." Astoria added.

"We'll be the judges of that."

Carly turned her head at the sound of her father's voice and saw her parents approaching from behind. They had just come home from work.

They walked up to Carly and looked at Arcee with scrutiny.

"Arcee, these are my parents, Eric and Arlene. Mom, dad, this is Arcee." Carly introduced.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Banas." Arcee said.

"Hello, Arcee." Mr. Banas looked at his daughter. "Carly,...an Autobot?"

"Don't worry, dad. Astoria paid for most of it." Carly told him.

"I'll be checking my credit card statement." Mr. Banas looked at Arcee. "Welcome to the family, Arcee."

Arcee smiled. "Thanks, grandpa."

"Let's all go inside and have dinner." Mrs. Banas quickly said, pushing her husband towards the front door. "Oh, yes. Hello, Arcee."

* * *

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Arcee asked in embarrassment.

"Absolutely." Carly replied. "I need to coat you with Corrostop, so you won't corrode."

Arcee was lying on the floor of Carly's garage in robot mode. Carly was spraying Corrostop, which she had heard Perceptor talk about at an award presentation earlier in the day, on Arcee.

"Okay, turn over." Carly told her.

Arcee turned over and lied on her back. "Oh, this is so degrading."

* * *

Carly drove Arcee into the lot of a gas station and parked her next to a pump. Dark storm clouds were gathering in the sky on this late afternoon, and Carly could hear the distant rumbling of thunder.

Arcee shut off her engine.

Carly unfastened her seatbelt and hopped out of Arcee.

Arcee opened the lid of her gas tank and then unscrewed the cap.

"Carly, could you please give me unleaded?" Arcee requested. "Regular tastes nasty."

"I'll do better than that." Carly lifted a pump handle and inserted the nozzle into Arcee. "Premium for my girl."

Carly started pumping gasoline into Arcee.

"Mmmmmm, that tastes so good." Arcee said.

When Carly was finished, she withdrew the nozzle from Arcee and put it back in its place.

"I'm gonna pay. I'll be back in a bit." Carly walked over to the convenience store.

Carly opened the door and walked inside.

She waited in line. A woman was standing in front of her with a little, brown-haired girl.

After the woman and the girl left the store, Carly walked up to the counter.

Carly placed a bill on the counter. "$10 on pump 1."

The clerk took the $10 bill. "Thanks."

Suddenly, Carly heard a female scream outside.

Carly ran, pushed the door open, and ran outside.

Several Decepticons were attacking the gas station. Megatron, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Soundwave were there, firing weapons. The woman that Carly had seen in the store was now cowering behind a parked car, clutching the girl in her arms.

"Decepticons, steal all of the fuel!" Megatron commanded. "We can use it to make energon cubes!"

Soundwave pressed a button. "Rumble, Frenzy, eject. Destroy the pavement and collect the fuel."

Rumble and Frenzy ejected from Soundwave and transformed into robot mode. They started pounding the pavement.

"Stop this!" Carly protested.

"Silence, pathetic flesh creature!" Megatron fired a shot at Carly.

Carly dodged the blast. "You won't get away with this, Decepticreep! Arcee, transform!"

Arcee transformed into robot mode.

"Now what?!" Arcee demanded. "You didn't build any weapons into me!"

"There's a prototype weapon in the back of my Jeep!" a man yelled behind Carly.

Carly turned to face him. He had just come out of the convenience store. A little, brown-haired girl was standing next to him.

"Who are you?!" Carly asked.

"Just a concerned parent!" The man drew his gun. "Get it! I'll provide cover fire!"

Carly turned and ran towards the Jeep at the other end of the lot.

When she finally reached it, she hopped into the back seat and lifted a gray, gun-shaped device.

"This thing is heavy!" Carly exclaimed.

Arcee ran over to her and picked up the weapon. She then turned and fired at the Decepticons.

"A girl robot?" Starscream asked, smiling in amusement. "This'll be fun."

Arcee fired at and hit him.

"Ow!" Starscream exclaimed.

Arcee hit him a few more times, then she fired at and hit Rumble and Frenzy.

Soundwave then fired at Arcee. Arcee dodged and returned fire, hitting him a few times.

"So you're the female Autobot that Shockwave told me about." Megatron said. "It will give me great pleasure to extinguish your laser core."

"Shut up, Megatron!" Arcee fired at him.

Megatron dodged the blasts. "No one makes a fool of Megatron! If we can't have the fuel, no one can! Thundercracker, destroy it!"

"Yes, Megatron!" Thundercracker fired on some of the pumps, causing them to explode.

Arcee fired at Thundercracker, hitting him a few times.

Megatron fired on the rest of the pumps and the propane tank, causing them to explode.

The darkness of the storm cloud-filled sky was lit by the orange of the explosions. Thunder crashed close by.

Arcee ran, scooped up all of the humans, and shielded them in her hands. Even so, Carly could feel the heat of the explosions.

"Decepticons, retreat!" Megatron ordered. "We'll meet at our next target in seventy-two-billion astroseconds! You have not seen the last of me, Autobot! I will have my revenge!"

Megatron, Starscream, Thundercracker, Soundwave, Rumble, and Frenzy flew into the air.

"And don't come back!" Arcee yelled.

Arcee set the humans down on the pavement.

Carly looked at the man. "Thank you, sir."

"No problem." the man told her. "Your robot is pretty handy with that gun. She can keep it, if she wants."

"But it's a new weapon." Carly said.

"Just the original prototype." the man told her. He looked at Arcee. "Keep it."

Arcee smiled. "Thank you, um, - "

"My name's Flint."

"Thanks, Flint." Arcee said.

"Is this your daughter?" Carly asked.

"Yes." Flint replied. "Her name's Marissa."

Carly tickled Marissa's chin with her left index finger. "Hi, Marissa. You have a cute name."

Marissa smiled. "Thank you. You have a pretty voice, Ms. Autobot."

Arcee laughed. "Thank you, Marissa. So do you."

"Thank you for saving my child and me." the woman said. "Um, what's your name?"

"My name's Arcee."

"Thank you, Arcee." the woman said.

Arcee smiled. "No problem, Ms., um, - "

"Morgan," the woman replied, "and this is _my_ daughter, Jessica."

Carly tickled Jessica's chin with her left index finger. "Hi, Jessica. I'm Carly."

Jessica smiled. "Hi, Carly."

* * *

"You should've seen Arcee! She was awesome!" Carly exclaimed.

Carly and Arcee were in Autobot headquarters. Arcee was in robot mode. Carly had just explained what had happened at the gas station to Optimus Prime.

"Well done, Arcee." Optimus Prime said.

"Thanks, Optimus Prime." Arcee said.

"One thing concerns me." Carly said. "As they were retreating, Megatron mentioned their 'next target'. Do you think the Decepticons are trying to collect energy in small doses?"

"If that's so," Optimus Prime said, "then the Decepticons can gather a large amount of energy over time. That does not sit well with me."

Teletraan I started beeping. Carly, Arcee, and Optimus Prime walked over to it.

Carly read the screen. "Sky Spy has picked up Decepticon activity in the city."

"I'll assemble the rest of the Autobots." Optimus Prime said.

Carly made a quick decision. "Meet us there, if you can."

"Carly?" Arcee asked in surprise.

"Arcee, transform and roll out!" Carly exclaimed.

Arcee transformed into vehicle mode.

Carly hopped into the driver's seat.

Arcee drove off.

**The End**

**Copyright 2003, 2006-2007 by Mark Moore**


End file.
